Why does the Planning Pass exist?
For over 23 years now I have been helping people plan their itinerary, organising tours, putting them up at Mara House in Luxor, and linking them up with great guides all over Egypt.
Most of the time that involved an average of 75 emails from my side, answering a myriad of concerns and questions.
Can you imagine how many hours of my life went into that?
Most of the people I did this work for booked with me. But do you see how much trust that involved on my part?
Egypt is different
Economics have changed in Egypt, and I appreciate the financial cost involved for anyone wanting to come here. It’s natural to want the best deal – we all search for one every day.
However, what you may not realise is that Egypt is different when it comes to planning a trip.
Culture is different. Language is different. Most of all, the way of doing business is different – and that’s the most important piece of information I can give you.
If you want to book a trip to Spain, Germany or even Ireland, you research online or go to a local travel agent, you get an array of itineraries and prices, you pay, you go, and 99% of the time you get exactly what you booked. That’s the end of it.
How the system in Egypt really works
- Egyptian operators compete online solely on price for your direct booking, and that price war is exactly what pushes guides into the shopping-commission trap that you need to understand.
- Some websites give you a phone number for what appears to be the Egyptian company in your own country.
- Overseas agents take your booking and hand you over to their contracted local operator – a DMC, a Destination Management Company – and those Egyptian agents are competing on price too in order to be taken on by the overseas travel and tour companies.
- Often the foreign agent has, at best, been on an all-expenses-paid inspection trip to Egypt, where they experienced only the best – not necessarily what they’ll be selling you.
That’s just background on the industry. Here’s what it has to do with the people who email me for prices, itineraries and questions.
Why I have changed the way I work
Traditionally, all of that meant hours of work for me, and I’ve never had a problem with that when the work is for people who are booking with me. My time is theirs.
But it’s a different matter when someone takes my time and energy – spread out over months, involving 75+ emails – and the intention, whether they’d put it this way or not, is to take the finished work and shop it around a multitude of other operators for the cheapest price.
The problem for me is that when my price comes in higher, the impression is that I’m overcharging, and the cheaper quote wins.
If two itineraries read the same – are they really the same?
No, usually not when it is my itinerary and our services being compared.
You won’t be taken shopping for commission by my guides – others will do it once, sometimes twice, a day. You won’t be served tourist food chosen for margin rather than quality. Your guide won’t be working you toward a relationship that pays off for them later, rushing you through sites to make time for the shop. There won’t be last-minute substitutions to the itinerary, or tickets quietly left out of the price.
That’s just part of the real difference behind two itineraries that look almost identical on paper.
What hasn’t changed
If someone wants to build an itinerary over four or five emails and then walk away – no problem.
If they want to build it and book – great.
That’s how this has always worked, and that hasn’t changed with me.
When the Planning Pass applies
The Planning Pass is for the person who wants to spend the next three to twelve months going back and forth – lots and lots of emails with changes, questions, options and rewrites.
For that, there is a charge of €125 and a limit of 25 emails from me.
The fee is non-refundable, whether you book with me or not. It pays for the planning itself.
Note: How to avoid the planning fee: 4 – 5 emails in and you should have a fair idea whether you trust me or not, whether you are ready to commit to the booking and continue the planning, by paying a deposit. Once the deposit is paid, my time is yours.
If you need more planning time
If we reach the 25-email limit and you’d like to keep planning before making a booking, a second Planning Pass (€125) opens another 25 emails.
Why this won’t always be available
I don’t know anyone else doing what I do.
An Egyptian agent can’t have these conversations with you the way I can – not just because of time, but because of language, culture, and the gap between what you expect and what they’re used to delivering. A foreign agent can’t do it either, unless they’ve lived here for years and stayed current ever since. An orientation trip doesn’t come close.
And it isn’t something AI can do for you. AI hasn’t walked these sites, doesn’t know these guides, nor the system and is only working from what’s already been published – not from being here. AI is far from being able to help you properly and safely plan a trip in Egypt and the online tools that claim to do so are a joke… but they are good money making jokes for the developers who will at some stage sell them on to the bigger tech companies.
I’ve been doing this for over 23 years, and I won’t be doing it forever. While I am, you have the chance to plan your trip with someone who has lived this country, not just researched it – and maybe even meet me at Mara House.
Is the Planning Pass right for you?
Most people don’t need one. Most people know quickly they are safe with me and commit to the deposit and we continue their planning.
If you have your dates and a rough idea of where you’d like to go, complete the Journey Planner below. From these questions I know what is a fit for your dreams. We can start there – no charge for the first few emails. Then we can decide together whether you are ready to commit to a booking with a deposit or need a planning pass to continue the conversation.